ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

HONOLULU, HAWAII

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

1450 ALA MOANA BLVD

HONOLULU, HI  96814

808-356-8300

HOURS:  Daily 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

www.macaronigrill.com

I am done with Romano's Macaroni Grill.  Hope to never go back here again.  Next time when we are at Ala Moana Center and want pasta, I'm going to Assagio's downstairs.  First off there is always a wait here.  20-40 minutes usually and the restaurant is empty.  We waited over 20 minutes for our table and when we were taken to a nice booth at the back of the restaurant we saw that the main dining area was completely empty and the tables were not being filled.  The only thing I could think of was that they did not have enough wait staff so they limited the number of tables being filled.  Good for service because we had an attentive waitress and the food came out quickly.  We started with Tapas for Two ($14).  Your choice of two of seven Tapas selections on the menu.  We ordered the Spicy Ricotta Meatballs and Cannellini Beans with Shrimp and Avocado.  The Meatballs were fantastic.  Super moist and full of flavor.  Not spicy at all however.  We all loved them.  The Cannelllini Beans were served on a oil drenched Crostini.  Really could not taste the avocado or shrimp. Mostly butter, oil and beans.  As I reviewed the pasta selections I noticed that most of the pastas are served with a cream sauce.  I don't like cream sauces so I asked the waitress about the create your own pasta and she brought  me a form where you can check off what you want in your pasta dish ($17.50).  I went for spaghetti with pomodoro sauce with chicken, snap peas, roasted peppers and broccolini.  Dish looked great but the pasta was overcooked and mushy.  The sauce was bland, the chicken was tasteless and the sauce was watery.  $17.50 for this upset me.  My Daughter went for the Grilled Chicken with Broccoli ($7) served with pasta.  She had the waitress cover everything on the plate with Parmesan Cheese.  She said they overcooked her chicken.  It was the same chicken in my pasta and it also had no taste.  This is a great meal for kids for $7 though.  The Chicken Scaloppine ($18) was "too greasy" according to my wife.  

Click links below to view other posts on Romano's Macaroni Grill:

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill-ala-moana-center.html

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2008/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill.html

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL AT ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

ROMANO'S RECEPTION DESK IS ALWAYS BUSY

LARGE RESTAURANT WITH OPEN KITCHEN IN THE BACK

DINING ROOM IS EMPTY AND THERE IS A 40 MINUTE WAIT?

ROMANO'S TAPAS, PANTRY AND PIZZA MENU

ROMANO'S CLASSICS MENU IS FILLED WITH CREAM SAUCES

ROMANO'S PRINCIPALE MENU

CREATE YOUR OWN PASTA DISH FORM

BUTTERY ROSEMARY BREAD WITH OLIVE OIL IS DELICIOUS

SPICY RICOTTA MEAT BALLS

THE SPICY RICOTTA MEATBALLS ARE MOIST AND DELICIOUS BUT NOT SPICY

SHRIMP, CANNELLINI BEANS AND AVOCADO CROSTINI

THIS DISH TASTED GOOD BUT WAS A MESS

CREATE YOUR OWN PASTA WITH POMODORO SAUCE, SNAP PEAS, ROASTED PEPPERS,
BROCCOLINI AND CHICKEN

KIDS MEAL PASTA WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND BROCCOLINI.  MY DAUGHTER
WENT NUTS WITH THE PARMESAN CHEESE

CHICKEN SCALOPPINE

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

Honolulu, HI

Located in the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu, the Macaroni Grill is a good, family friendly place to grab a lunch or dinner.  We took some friend and three girls ages 3 to 7 there to celebrate Keli's 7th Birthday.  All of the girls enjoyed macaroni and cheese with a side of fresh grilled broccoli.  Yes, they ate the broccoli and loved it.  I tried it and it was good.  We ordered a Margherita Pizza as an appetizer for the table.  At $10.99 it was a bargain.  Good sized brick oven cooked pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes and basil.  Everyone said it was good.  Both couples split a Ceasar Salad.  It was also good and served with large pieces of anchovy on top.  For entrees, our friends split the Mama's Trio.  Three Italian favorites on one plate.  Lasagna Bolognese, Chicken Cannelloni and Chicken Parmesan.  This is a lot of food for $16.99.  A bargain if you split it between two people.  Shirley enjoyed Chicken Scaloppine.  Sauteed chicken breast with mushrooms, artichokes, capers and smoked prosciutto in a lemon butter sauce.  Served over capellini pasta ($15.99).  There was enough for two people here and it was quite tasty.  I enjoyed the Seafood Linguine.  Shrimp, scallops and clams sauteed with oven roasted tomatoes, basil, arugula and linguine in a white wine, garlic and olive oil sauce ($16.99).  The dish was o.k.  A little oily and tasteless.  The shrimp and scallops had no flavor.  The clams were small but good.  I could only eat half.  The table enjoyed a double bottle of Chianti wine.  At $32 it is a bargain for two bottles of wine.  During the course of our dinner we were pleased to have two songs sung by one of the employees.  She was Asian and 23 yet belted out songs in Italian that were really good.  This is a great place to eat family style and bring kids.  The service was excellent.  The food and prices are good.  Click links below for updated posts on Romano's Macaroni Grill:
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill-ala-moana-center.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2014/02/romanos-macaroni-grill.html